Saints valiantly go down
27/05/2024
Saints valiantly go down to the Western Bulldogs by 10-points.
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Photography by Anthony Vella
Venturing westward to Mission Whitten Oval on Saturday afternoon, the Southern Saints faced off against the in-form Western Bulldogs and were narrowly defeated by a margin of 10 points. Leading in the second quarter by as much as 12-points, the Saints demonstrated their full range of abilities and composure, dominating the stoppages for significant stretches of the match and winning the hit-outs 35-34.
Resisting the Bulldogs’ intense pressure in the initial minutes of the first quarter, in what were pristine conditions for football, we began to fight our way back through strong overhead contested marks and precise chip kicks from Deanna Jolliffe. Midway through the first, Chloe Hunt skilfully won a rucking infringement freekick in the forward 50, leading to a successful set shot from 35m out for the game’s first goal.
The second quarter saw us take command of the game, with Charlotte Ryan and Winnie Laing’s dynamic running skills initiating numerous rebound 50s that effectively disrupted the Bulldogs’ defensive setup. Seizing our chances, Melanie Bertuna executed a set shot just two minutes in, while Chloe Hunt demonstrated her top-five standing in the Rohenna Young Medal rankings with a remarkable running snap from 40m out.
Determined to sustain our momentum into the second half, that we began with vigour, successfully retaining possession and locking the ball in our half. Unfortunately, despite our well-executed transitions of play, we were unable to capitalise and kicked four minors in the third and fourth quarters, allowing the Dogs to bite back.
Charlotte Ryan was a dominant force in the game, amassing a match-high 26 disposals, 16 kicks, and six clearances, playing a pivotal role in the first half to secure territorial advantage.
Winnie Laing once more proved to be a formidable presence, leveraging her skilful footwork to adeptly transition the ball from the back half. She finished the day with 16 disposals, 12 handballs, and four clearances.
Grace Hodder was once again pivotal in the defensive line, consistently applying pressure on the opposition’s forwards with a total of 10 tackles for the day.
Ahlee Penry came away with 26 hit-outs on the day, demonstrating her resilience and proving to be a strong contested player amongst challenging adversaries.
Although the Bulldogs emerged victorious by 10-points, the team gave it their all and numerous positive aspects from the game give us every reason to be excited for the upcoming match against Collingwood this Sunday.
Southern Saints: 1.2 3.2 3.5 3.6 (24)
Western Bulldogs: 1.1 3.4 4.4 5.4 (34)
For the full VFLW Stats package and match replay visit the VFL website.
Join us next week at the AIA Centre as we take on Collingwood at 11:00am on Sunday the 2nd of June.
Written by Digby Verlander - Sandringham FC Media